Division of Water Resources

Water Literate Leaders of Northern Colorado

• October 02, 2019 • Corey DeAngelis, Division Engineer • Mark Simpson, Poudre Water Commissioner • Jean Lever, Thompson Water Commissioner • Water Resources • Water • Parks and Wildlife Conservation Board • Oil & Gas • Reclamation, Conservation Mining and Safety Commission • State Land Board • Avalanche Information Center • Forestry https://cdnr.us/ • The position of Water Commissioner was created by the Legislature in 1879 • The office of State Hydraulic Engineer was created by the Legislature in 1881 • State Engineer is Governor Appointed • State Engineer’s Office became part of DNR in 1969

www.water.state.co.us Division of Water Resources Roles and Responsibilities • Water Administration – Surface & Underground – Water Court Participation • Interstate Compacts and Decrees • Flow Measurement (Hydrographic Program) • Public Safety (Dams and Wells) • Water Well Permitting • Public Information Service/Record Keeping DWR Water Divisions & Offices Division 1 Water Districts Map South Platte Basin Hydrology

• USGS estimates total basin native flows to average about 1,400,000 acre-feet annually • Transmountain water imports average about 400,000 acre-feet annually • Total annual surface water diversions average about 4,000,000 acre-feet annually

TRANSMOUNTAIN DIVERSIONS OFFICE OF THE STATE ENGINEER 1 2

3 STEAMBOAT 4 6 SPRINGS 5 6 7

30 8 TO BASIN 31 GREELEY SOUTH 30. SARVIS DITCH 32 TO SOUTH PLATTE BASIN 31. STILLWATER DITCH 1. WILSON SUPPLY DITCH 32. DOME DITCH 9 2. DEADMAN DITCH 3. LARAMIE POUDRE TUNNEL 1 4. SKYLINE DITCH 5. CAMERON PASS DITCH 10 6. MICHIGAN DITCH 11 7. GRAND RIVER DITCH 5 17 16 15 8. ALVA B. ADAMS TUNNEL GLENWOOD 19 18 9. MOFFAT WATER TUNNEL SPRINGS 12 10. BERTHOUD PASS DITCH 20 11. VIDLER TUNNEL GRAND 12. HAROLD D. ROBERTS TUNNEL JUNCTION 13 14 13. BOREAS PASS DITCH 21 14. TUNNEL

DELTA 4 2 22 PUEBLO TO ARKANSAS BASIN MONTROSE 15. COLUMBINE DITCH 16. EWING DITCH 17. WURTZ DITCH 23 18. HOMESTAKE TUNNEL 24 19. CHARLES H. BOUSTEAD TUNNEL 20. BUSK-IVANHOE TUNNEL 21. TWIN LAKES TUNNEL 3 22. LARKSPUR DITCH

25 ALAMOSA 26 27 28

DURANGO 7 29 TO RIO GRANDE BASIN 23. TARBELL 24. WEMINUCHE PASS DITCH 25. PINE RIVER-WEMINUCHE PASS DITCH 26. WILLIAMS CREEK-SQUAW PASS DITCH 27. DON LA FONT DITCHES 1 & 2 28. TREASURE PASS DIVERSION DITCH 29. TABOR DITCH South Platte Water Usage 1980 Surface Water Use Breakdown 2005 Surface Water Use Breakdown

Augmentation Recharge Industrial 7% 6% 6% Municipal Industrial 12% 4%

Municipal 21%

Irrigation 62% Irrigation 82%

Ground Water Only Ground Water & Surface Water Surface Water Only

18% 27% 55% Source: Colorado Decision Support System - 2005 SWSI 2010 – South Platte Basin http://cwcb.state.co.us/water-management/water-supply-planning/pages/swsi2010.aspx • Population – Current (2010) – 5.05 million – Projected (2050) – 8.6 to 10 million

• Irrigated Area – Current (2010) – 860,000 acres – Projected (2050) Decrease by – 180,000 to 267,000 acres

• Municipal & Industrial Supply “Gap” – between 99,000 AF and 360,000 AF – 110,000 – 130,000 AF (With Identified Projects and Process ) Key Water Measurement Terms cfs – a cubic foot of water past a fixed point in one second (second-foot) Acre-foot – one acre covered one foot in depth (1 cfs for 1 day equals approximately 2 acre-feet) – Average surburban family uses about ½ acre-foot of water per year Flume or Weir – specially shaped devices installed in a ditch to measure flow In 1879, Colorado established Water Commissioners to distribute water rights in priority based upon principle of “First In Time... First In Right” Colorado’s Water Administration System The Prior Appropriation Doctrine means those that put the water to use first are entitled to get their water first during periods of water shortage. In Colorado, the priority of a water right is determined by BOTH the date when the water was first put to a beneficial use and the date when the right was decreed by the Water Court. This is opposed to the Riparian Doctrine that recognizes water rights as being attached to lands adjacent to the river or stream. Colorado Average Precipitation

U.S. Department of Commerce

NOAA National Climatic Data Center Definition of Terms for a Call

• Free River – the supply of water in the river exceeds the demand for water by all decreed water users • Call – the demand for water by a user with a decreed water right • Valid Call - recognized and administered by Division of Water Resources – the determination by the Water Commissioner of the most junior right that may divert when the supply of water in the river is less than the demand on the river by all decreed water users (also known as “The Call”) Over-Appropriated South Platte

● More water is usually claimed or desired by water users than is available. ● Generally experience a water shortage much of the year. ● Almost always throughout the summer only water users who have water rights dating from the 1860’s to the 1890’s can divert in-priority. ● Plans of augmentation* allow replacement of out-of- priority diversions.

* Plans for Augmentation - Provide replacement water so that out-of-priority diversions by a junior water right user can occur without injuring downstream senior water rights. 17 Drainage Water Rights Development

# 76 SEDGWICK Logan Sedgwick 3 Priority Dates 48 NUNN Of Controlling • LarimerA # D64 STERLING # HOLYOKE Water Rights FORT COLLINS # # Weld Phillips 4 GREELEY # Early 1860’s • # ESTEAS PA R K C A FORT MORGAN # 65 Late 1860’s YUMA To Early A 5 K E EN E S B U RG M o r g a n #B WRAY Boulder # # 1870’s # 2 Yuma A B OU L D E RB W a s h i n g to n C Early 1880’s 6 1 Gilpin Adams Late 1880’s A B E N N E TT D To Mid-1890’s 7 DENVER # Clear Creek D#enver A Arapahoe J9efferson A 8 CASTLE ROCK Lincoln Kit Carson # Elbert FLAGLER 80 Douglas # 49 Park A 23 El Paso WOODLAND PARK # Teller Cheyenne # Cities Division 1 Boundary N Division 1 Districts Division 1 Counties W E Main Rivers S Plan for Augmentation • Plan to provide replacement water so that diversions by a junior water right user can occur without injuring other water right users. • The junior water right diversion is often associated with a well or a group of wells and replacement is of the depletions of those wells. Change of Water Right

• Change in type, place, or time of use • Change in point of diversion • Change from direct application to storage and subsequent application • Change in point of storage • Often, a change of an irrigation right to municipal or augmentation purposes. This may involve new or alternate points of diversion, but not always. A few Recent Trends for Northern

• Expanding Dairy Industry – Leprino cheese factories in Greeley and Ft. Morgan – Private dairies need water supply • Hemp / Marijuana • Fracking Operations • DWR Use of Technology – Electronic data loggers – Remote reporting Automated Diversions & Telemetry Data • South Platte River Basin (Div. 1) • Currently: 489 Sites on website(2005- 2013 SPBRT Funding) • Cooperative, USGS, DWR, NCWCD, LSPWCD, CCWCD, Etc. Future Consideration

● Development of water in the South Platte River basin will likely continue to include change of water rights applications. ○ 2002 - 1,000 Augmentation Plans ○ 2007 - 1,300 Increase of an average of 30 new plans per year out of nearly ○ 2018 - 1,900 300 new cases filed annually with the Court ● The decrees for these change decrees include complex administrative provisions resulting from moving the supply of raw water to the intended place of use.

23 Water Commissioner Responsibilities

• Day to Day Administration – Setting the Valid Call Based on Supply and Demand – Assuring Diversions In Priority For Decreed Uses Without Waste – Delivery of Augmentation and Other Water After Assessing Transit Losses – Operating Exchanges – Assuring Diversions Are Measured – Assuring Augmentation and Return Flow Requirements Are Made – Assuring Compliance with Other Decree Conditions in Augmentation and Change Cases • Review of Accounting and Maintenance of Diversion Records Poudre River – District 3

Irrigation Ditch Construction in Fort Collins - Late 19th Century Where Does the Water in the Poudre Come From?

 Three main sources  Native River Water

 C-BT System Water

 Other Transbasin Supplies Average Annual Poudre Basin Supplies 500,000

450,000 Other Transbasin Imports 400,000 CBT/Win 350,000 dy Gap Imports 300,000 Poudre River Flows 250,000 ee t) f

- 200,000 e acr ( 150,000

oun t 100,000 Am 50,000

0 Native Poudre Water

 Roughly 65% of the Poudre’s water is native flows from snowmelt  Starts from Poudre Lake off Trail Ridge Road, RMNP  Flows vary from year to year  The annual volume is highly variable

Native Poudre Water

 Average daily flow varies depending on the time of year  Two-thirds of the annual volume comes in a two month period  Winter flows are very low, accounting for only 1 or 2 percent of the annual flow each month 1,800 Average Poudre River Flows 1,600

1,400 2/3rds of runoff 1,200 occurs in 2 monthsmonths 1,000 (cfs)

800 Flo w

600

400

200

0 ct pr ov ec ug ep J ul A O J an J un Feb Mar N D A S May

Date Source: Cache la Poudre River at the Mouth of the Canyon Gage (USGS 06752000) Cache la Poudre River Monthly Average Native Runoff at the Mouth of the Canyon (1950-2005) 120,000

39%

100,000 ) t ee f 80,000 - acre ( f 23%

Runof 60,000 e g vera A

ly 14% 40,000 Month

20,000 5% 5% 3% 3% 1% 1% 2% 2% 2%

0 JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC Month Native Poudre Water

 Lack of water in the late summer and winter months to meet demands  Extreme variability in the supply from year to year  Reservoirs were built to re-time the water so that it is available to meet irrigation and municipal demands Poudre River Flows 4,000

3,500 Wet Year 3,000 (1980)

2,500 (cfs) 2,000 Average Year ow l

F (1993) 1,500

1,000 Dry Year (2002) 500

0 pr ug ep Jul Oct A Jun Jan Feb Mar S A Nov Dec May 11 Date Source: Cache la Poudre River at the Mouth of the Canyon Gage (USGS 06752000) Colorado Big Thompson Project Colorado Big Thompson Project CBT

 Roughly 25% of the water in the Poudre is diverted from the Colorado River via the Colorado Big Thompson Project

 Helps to fill in supply in years when annual supplies in native rivers are low

 Helps to fill in supply during months when flows in native rivers are low (late- summer, and for municipalities, winter too) Colorado Big Thompson Project CBT

 Horsetooth Reservoir is part of the CBT Project, serving the Poudre

 About 60% of the CBT project water is released into the Poudre via Horsetooth  Horsetooth releases made from April through October, mostly in late summer Other Transbasin Diversions

Roughly 10% of the water in the Poudre is diverted from these other transbasin diversions, constructed in the late 1800 ‘s and early 1900’s Other Transbasin Diversions

 Grand River Ditch (bringing water from the Colorado River) Other Transbasin Diversions

 Laramie-Poudre Tunnel (bringing water from the Laramie River in Wyoming) Other Transbasin Diversions

Other Transbasin Diversions  Michigan Ditch  Wilson Supply Ditch  Deadman Creek Ditch  Bob Creek Ditch  Cameron Ditch Who Owns Rights to Use The Water?

 Agricultural Users (~85%)  Municipal and Industrial (M&I) Users (~15%) Recreational and Environmental Users (not included in the percentages because they are considered “non-consumptive”) North Fork Cache la Norlh Poudre Ditch Poudre River ------. POUDR E RIVER DIVERSIONS Munroe Canal {] WELLINGTON

Canel

Taylor & GIU Dllches Cherle1 Hansen Supply Canel Larimer end Weld Canal P IERCE ,,...... c;Ft+..,..:r-.-- t - Lake Canel ""-.--.r....;;::=-- -t,.,,r;...... Coy Ditch Q AULT Reservoir

T IMNATH

Cr eeley No. 2 Ditch EATON

Whilney Ditch Agricultural Uses

 Four Large Irrigation Systems  North Poudre Irrigation Company

 Water Supply and Storage Company

 Larimer and Weld Irrigation Company

 New Cache Irrigating Company (Greeley No 2)  Many Smaller Irrigation Companies NR NR NR N NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR t

 City of Fort Collins  City of Greeley (Bellvue Water Treatment Plant)  Tri-Districts (Soldier Canyon Filter Plant) • Fort Collins-Loveland Water District • East Larimer County Water District • North Weld County Water District Municipalities and Water Districts Recreational and Environmental Uses  CWCB In-stream Flows (mostly in the mountains)  Recreational In-Channel Diversions (RICD) City of Fort Collins has two RICDs How are Rights Administered?

 The water rights that were applied for first (1860s) get the senior priorities  The water rights in the Poudre are assigned numbers based on the application date  Number 1 is a senior right (6-1-1860)

 Number 100 is a junior right (1881) How are Rights Administered?

 For Storage decrees  Usually junior to the direct flow decrees on the Poudre

 Typically the storage season is Nov 1-Apr 15

 Can also be diverted when the high flows occur

 Water is measured at the reservoir using a staff gage How are Rights Administered?

 As the flow rate in the river increases, more water rights “come into priority” (can divert)  As the flow in the river decreases, the last right to divert is the first right to shut off  In some years junior water rights may not ever come into priority Conclusions  The Poudre River gets its water from many sources  Poudre River flows vary considerably - annually, monthly, daily  Agricultural irrigation continues to use a large majority of the Poudre supplies  For many junior water right holders, the water is not available when the water is needed  Rules for diverting and using the water are prescribed by Colorado water law  The Poudre Water Commissioner is responsible to administer the “working river” BIG THOMPSON WATERSHED

October 2, 2019 Jean Lever, District 4 WC Water Sources for the Big Thompson River • Native Water – Direct Use – Storage • CBT / Windy Gap water – This is the only significant source of transbasin water for the Big Thompson Basin Native Big T water • Approximately 75% of the Big T’s water is from snowmelt • Catchment Areas – RMNP (East side of Continental Divide) is the main catchment basin for the Big Thompson – The N Fork of the Big T and Buckhorn Creek contribute from the north side of the basin – Little Thompson catchment area is lower in elevation, south side of the basin – Seepage returns to the rivers downstream • Highly variable flows and volumes annually Peak Flow: Big T inlet to Lake Estes (DCFS) 2500

2000

1500 CFS 1000

500

0 1957 1962 1967 1972 1977 1982 1987 1992 1997 2002 2007 2012 2017 Average Peak Flow Above Lake Estes: 901 cfs 2019 Peak 1100 cfs at 2:30am on 7/1/2019 Source: BTABESCO Hydrograph of Big Thompson Supply BTABESCO + BTNFDRCO 1600

1400 DCFS 2002 1200 DCFS 2011 1000 Avg Yr DCFS 800 600

400

200

0

2002 Dry Year: Peak May 31st at 401 cfs (369 + 32) 2018 Year: Peak May 27th at 720 cfs (635+85) Average Year: Peak June 19th at 742 cfs (610+ 132) 2019 Year: Peak July 1st at 1098 cfs (957 + 141) Distribution of Native Flow of the Big Thompson

40%

35%

30% AVG YR 25% 2018 YR 2019 YR 20%

15%

10%

5%

0% Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct CBT / WINDY GAP SYSTEM

• Only major transbasin diversion into the Big T is the Adams Tunnel from Lake Granby • Lake Estes: CBT and native water come together; it is not a storage container • USBR controls the movement of transbasin water from the West slope through to Horsetooth & Carter • NCWCD organizes and controls the release of CBT & Windy Gap to users CBT / WINDY GAP SYSTEM

• Chimney Hollow Reservoir • Has received final approval • Will be built 2018 – 2023 • Capacity: approx 90,000 AF • Total CBT/Windy Gap storage = 370,000 AF Total Average Big T River Water Supply 100% 90% CBT/Windy Gap 80% 70% Native 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%

Approximately: 19.5% water use on Big Thompson River from CBT Native water: BTABESCO + BTNFDRCO (Big T above Lake Estes + N Fork) CBT: HBDMC diversion records 1999-2016 Excludes: Little Thompson & LTWD Major Ditches on the Big Thompson Largest Diverters • GLIC system largest and most complex – spans from Loveland Lake to Greeley – Includes Boyd Lake, Horseshoe Lake, Lake Loveland (75,000 AF decreed storage) – Water from this system owned & used by City of Loveland, City of Greeley as well as the ditch company • Home Supply – Spans from W side of Loveland to I-25 and to the Little Thompson – Includes Lonetree, Mariano, Lon Hagler • City of Loveland – Green Ridge Glade Municipalities & Water Districts

• Receive water from the Big Thompson – City of Loveland – City of Greeley – Estes Park – Berthoud – Johnstown – Milliken • Little Thompson Water District – CBT only • Central Weld County Water District - Milliken Municipal Use of ‘Ditch’ Water

• Municipal ownership of ditch water rights increasing – Change use of the shares to include municipal, storage, augmentation, recreation, etc. – A municipality may eventually become the primary owner of the shares of a ditch – Location of the diversion of the water changes • City requires water at its water treatment plants • Recreational & conservation use leaves water in the river or in reservoirs – Affects the operations of the ditch company In-stream Flow Requirements • Decreed in-stream flows – Only in the Canyon (main & N Fork) – Junior water rights • USBR Fish Flow Provisions – Same or greater than the decreed in-stream flows • No minimum stream flow requirements downstream of Dille/ Dam Store – WC can/does dry-up the river in Loveland Big T Envisioning Project http://www.bigthompson.co/ QUESTIONS

E-mail – [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Office Phone – (970) 352-8712 Web Site – http://water.state.co.us